SA Rugby looks at a Matfield’s return to the field

Victor Matfield has made the right decision to come out of retirement. Matfield is lacing up his boots again after two years of TV work and coaching. The Bulls will reportedly ease the 36-year-old back, by using him off the bench at first and then starting him in the latter stages of the tournament, to ensure he is ready to play Test rugby. Will the Bok legend make a successful comeback? In the new issue of SA Rugby magazine, now on the shelves, Mark Keohane explains why, no matter what happens, Matfield’s return is a win-win situation for him, the Bulls and the Boks.

Read more about this and Frans Steyn, who had a 2013 season to forget. Having been named Sharks captain in the absence of the injured Keegan Daniel, an out-of-shape Steyn was dropped from the starting XV in March and told to work on his conditioning. It will be fascinating to see how Steyn performs in this year’s Super Rugby tournament under new Sharks director of rugby Jake White. It was White who picked the then teenager for the Springboks in 2006 and backed him to start at the World Cup the following year. As senior staff writer Ryan Vrede asks in this issue, will White be able to get the best out of a player who has failed to fire since returning from France?